Ask Helena & Leo

Question: What are the requirements for Visual Acuity? Could not find a specific reference in either J-STD-001 or IPC -A-610.

Question: We have boards with PEM® nuts being soldered during production. Has IPC established minimum soldering criteria for SMT PEM®s?

Question: We have a through-hole integrated circuit (IC) component that has good wetting when it goes through the wave soldering machine, and the solder climbs pretty far up the lead. It does not appear that it is touching the IC body, but can...

Question: If we are using a solder pot to tin wires and create solder joints (splices), what Maximum Limits of Solder Bath Contaminant do we adhere to (IPC J-STD-001, table 3-1)? Preconditioning or Assembly? What exactly does Preconditioning...

Question: While reviewing IPC-A-610, Section 4.1.5.1 (Torque of Threaded Fasteners), the question of “what is the standard industry practice” came up. I checked several reference documents like IPC-AJ-820 but found nothing that explained this...

Question: Why did the IPC make the gold removal requirement for Class 2 products a requirement (D2D3) when in Rev E of J-STD-001 it was a process indicator (P2D3)? Connectors and surface mount oscillators are only available in Gold over Nickel...

Question: We are trying to understand the rationale for choosing to install bifurcated terminals for power lead attachments versus slotted terminals. For years we’ve designed with slotted terminals in PWBs for leaded component (hi-rel...

Question: Can a PTH component (resistor, fuse, or solid wire) be reliably soldered in-line with stranded wire? Similarly to a wire lap joint, but with a component between the two wires. Is there an IPC standard that covers this situation? I...

Question: I am working through the online testing for our employees. I have a question regarding the score for the solder board for J-STD-001 and how and when that gets submitted in the system. Having worked through the first test and...

Question: Why did the IPC change the barrel fill requirement for Class 2 in J-STD-001 Revision F? Revision E allowed 50% when there was a thermal plane. Now, Rev. F states 75% regardless of thermal plane. It all depends on how many leads the...

Question: Is the J-STD-001FS Certification available for delivery yet? I know the document is available.

Question: Do Nail Head Type surface mount terminals meet the criteria of J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610, or rather, has the IPC established any criteria for this type of component?